The Undertone Review: A Nerve-Shredding, Audio Driven Nightmare

Fantasia International Film Festival, Reviews /

UPDATE: Our review was originally written after we screened the film at the 2025 Fantasia Film Festival. A year later, our opinion hasn\’t changed! Go see this film with a big crowd at the theatre with the best sound possible. If you\’re Canadian and have access to an AVX theatre, we definitely think it\’ll be worth the premium ticket cost. Our coverage of the Fantasia Film Festival is rolling on, even if the Festival has officially wrapped! One movie I absolutely need to talk about is The Undertone, because it’s undoubtedly one of my favourite movies that I saw at the festival.  The setup is simple: “A podcast host covering spooky content moves in to care for her dying mother. When sent recordings of a pregnant couple\’s paranormal encounters, she discovers their story parallels hers, each tape pushing her toward madness.” The film was written and directed by Ian Tuason and stars Nina Kiri as Evy, the podcast host who moves in with her mother. As usual, this review will be spoiler-free, so don’t be scared to dive in!  My Thoughts If you read our Best Movies of 2023, you’ll know that Skinamarink was #2 on my list. Like that movie, The Undertone is all about doing the most to bring horror back to its base elements of sights and especially sounds. Unlike Skinamarink, though, I think this movie is more accessible. The Undertone is shot simply but to maximum effect. I won’t even describe specific shots because it would lessen their impact. I will say it’s the kind of movie where you’re constantly checking the corners and edges of the frame to make sure nothing is hiding there.  As a seasoned horror movie veteran, I consider movies like this to be the scariest kind I’ve ever seen. It’s easy to drop the audio and then suddenly blast loud music and have something jump into frame, that’s why 90% of horror movies are crammed full of jump scares. But eventually, you start to see them coming from a mile away, and they don’t even impact you. The Undertone, like Skinamarink before it, understands that tension is what really makes an audience uncomfortable. Jump scares are releases of tension, so you may jump when one happens, but it’s not real fear or stress.  This movie uses the frame and sound design to maximize that tension. Every time the main character put on her noise-cancelling headphones to start recording the podcast, I would hold my breath as the ambient sounds of the house went silent and all you could hear was the muffled hum of the headphones, as if I was also wearing them.  The brilliance of this is that it makes the audience feel like a part of the movie, anxiously watching over Evy while she’s recording the podcast to try and see if anything spooky is happening in the house, as if we could burst in to warn her.  The camera work enhances this, too. Simple movements give us the opportunity to scan the house looking for something, anything, that might be where it shouldn’t be.  The fact that I’m talking about all this horror and dread, without even discussing the tapes they’re listening to on the podcast, should really tell you just how much this movie got under my skin. The podcast within the movie is a completely distinct source of dread in its own right too, where they play anonymously submitted audio tapes of a different paranormal encounter. The tapes themselves are creepy as hell, and the characters constantly rewind and replay key moments over and over again to try and hear certain things, which naturally means we the audience end up doing the same thing.  Nina Kiri as Evy is phenomenal in this too, selling everything perfectly, dialing up everything we’re collectively feeling. As our only real onscreen character in the movie, she has to be strong enough to carry you through, and she does it with absolute ease.  Lastly, I have to mention Ian Tuason, who is outstanding in his directorial debut. The things that make this movie so effective seem very simple on the surface, but they’re incredibly hard to actually pull off convincingly, which is why so many other horror directors just rely on jump scares. From nearly the very beginning, Tuason starts ratcheting the tension higher and higher, barely giving you the room to breathe, and just when you feel like it’s safe to let your guard down, it’s not.  Verdict Not only did I love The Undertone, it was confidently a “Best of the Fest” movie for me. This movie proves that you don’t need millions of dollars or elaborate sets to make an incredibly effective horror movie. The tension was so next level that by the end of the movie, I wasn’t sitting in my seat, I was welded to it. Without question, The Undertone is best enjoyed at a theatre, and I’m happy to report that it was just announced that A24 has acquired the rights for this movie, so I hope that means it will be coming with a nice theatrical run too.  When it does, don’t wait around. See this movie on opening weekend with a packed crowd and immerse yourself in this movie. Just don’t expect to ever feel comfortable wearing noise-cancelling headphones at home again.

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\’Sweetness\’ Review – Misery Meets MCR in Emma Higgins\’ Bold Debut About Teen Angst and Obsessive Fandom

Fantasia International Film Festival, Reviews /

UPDATE: This review was written after we screened this film at the 2025 Fantasia Film Festival. We really like this movie, but it\’s best enjoyed with a crowd and some friends! So go support this one if its playing in a theater near you! Writer/director Emma Higgins introduced her debut film, Sweetness, at the Fantasia International Film Festival by saying it was for \”girls who shop at Hot Topic, wear too much eyeliner, coloured hair, people on SSRIs, the emos, for Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance—it\’s for anyone who has ever loved a musician or had a broken heart or [felt] unrequited love. It\’s for the horror fans and it\’s for Canadians.\” It\’s the perfect intro to this gem of a psychological thriller, which I adored. I really hope this movie takes off, and I look forward to seeing it get a theatrical release, so more people get a chance to see it. It\’s a great sign of the current state of Canadian filmmaking! Made with an all-Canadian cast, crew, and production, the movie was shot in North Bay, Ontario and is set in a fictional small town in Ontario, to boot. I make such a point of this because it\’s refreshing to see a movie set and made in Canada that feels this high-calibre. Obviously, there are homegrown cult classic gems like Ginger Snaps (which feels like an influence here, to some degree), but this gives me some hope for the future of the Canadian film industry. This thing is slick, well-shot, cleverly written, and well-paced, with an excellent cast and great balance of tone. The Fantasia crowd was eating it up too, hooting and hollering at the film\’s twists and turns, which only enhanced the experience of seeing it on a big screen. Sweetness follows Rylee (Kate Hallett), a lonely sixteen-year-old girl who\’s bullied at school, is grieving her mother, and has a fraught relationship with her emotionally stunted cop dad (Justin Chatwin) and his new girlfriend (Amanda Brugel). Her only source of solace amidst all of that turmoil comes from the songs of her favourite band, Floorplan, led by a Gerard Way-esque pop star named Payton Adler (Herman Tømmeraas), whose lyrics suggest he may be the only person in the world who truly understands Rylee\’s angst. What starts as a simple story about teenage obsession slowly devolves into cringe-inducing sickly sweet delusion after a chance post-concert encounter leads Rylee to discover that Payton is a dysfunctional drug addict, pushing her to take it upon herself to fix him. I\’m a sucker for stories about desperate people who get themselves into a hole and inevitably end up digging themselves deeper and deeper. Every time I wondered if the movie would go there—it did, and each time, I got more and more on board. Sweetness was the first film at this year\’s Fantasia that really got its hooks in me and had me feeling elated walking out of the theatre after. One of its big strengths is that it knows exactly what it is and delivers on the promise of its premise without overstaying its welcome. That largely comes down to the tight script and balancing act performance from Kate Hallett. Despite what very easily could have tipped over into an unbelievable or hard-to-swallow premise, the film never broke my suspension of disbelief. And every time it upped the ante, I bought in further, which is a difficult thing to pull off. Visually, the movie is also incredibly self-assured, especially for a debut feature on a relatively small budget. It just has a ton of style, from the poster design to the title font to the score and original songs by Blitz//Berlin, which have just the right amount of pop cringe. It all feels polished and adds to the style and tone of the movie. But the real star here, as mentioned, is Hallett as Rylee. The character is a tough one to pull off, because Rylee has to be sympathetic and easy to root for, while descending into more and more questionable moral territory as the movie progresses. In the Q&A after the screening, Higgins said she wrote the character as the heroine of the story—because she is. Rylee believes wholeheartedly that she\’s in the right every step of the way. And the only way a story like this works is if the script is on her side. We, as an audience, may or may not be, but Rylee is the protagonist and the heroine and the driving force. As Higgins elaborated, it\’s the plot that\’s in opposition to her. Rylee\’s the hero of her own story, even though her actions may be less-than-heroic when taken in a broader context. As wild as the film gets, it\’s rooted in the emotional truth of being a teenage girl. A lot of teenage girldom is often dark and difficult and lonely and crazy-making. By tapping into those emotions, we can always at least understand what\’s motivating Rylee, even if we can\’t necessarily condone the outcome. It\’s that tension that the movie holds in perfect balance. In lesser hands, the character could easily have fallen flat and brought the whole movie down with her. It\’s to the film\’s credit that it always treats Rylee as a sympathetic character. She may be an emotional, delusional, grieving, obsessive teenage girl, but the film takes her seriously, which makes us as an audience take her seriously and see her as more than one-dimensional. That\’s not to say the movie takes itself too seriously. Part of why it works so well is that it doesn\’t and has a very dark sense of humour about its subject matter. The film consistently delivers laughs, thrills, chills, sweetness, and violence, making a perfectly balanced cocktail for a good time at the movies. Verdict Sweetness gets a strong recommend from me. This psychological thriller gem has an excellent handle on tone and style, with great performances and an awesome script from writer/director Emma Higgins. It\’s a modern-day

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\’Queens of the Dead\’ Review – A Horror Comedy That\’s Cool, Kind, and Queer as Hell

Fantasia International Film Festival, Reviews /

Tina Romero, daughter of legendary horror filmmaker George A. Romero, makes her directorial debut with her own take on the zombie genre in Queens of the Dead. This horror comedy follows a group of drag queens, DJs, drug dealers, and club kids who have to fend for themselves as zombies flood the streets of Brooklyn during a warehouse party. The film is unapologetically made by and for the queer community, and that\’s really what makes it sing, despite its flaws. If you\’ve ever wanted to see a rag-tag group of gays, girls, and theys—plus a token straight guy—fight for their lives against a horde of shambling, sparkling zombies, then you\’re in for a treat. The zombies here are more glitter and glam than guts and gore. But while some may want a bit more horror in their horror/comedy, the heart and humour is what makes this movie so fun. Queens of the Dead is an ensemble film, and its emphasis on community and kinship makes it stand out among other movies in the genre. There\’s no single hero or final girl here. The hero is really the queer community, and that\’s reflected in the broad and colorful cast of characters. While many of those characters are hilarious and fun to watch bounce off of each other, the characters as individuals feel somewhat underbaked as a result, making it harder to get invested in the individual drama and emotional beats. For that reason, some of the more serious moments that were meant to elicit emotion didn\’t quite land for me. In a way, I wish the movie had leaned even more into the absurdity and comedic side. It is a funny movie, and watching it at Fantasia with an eager and joyous crowd was probably the best way to experience this movie. However, not all of the comedic moments landed, just as not all of the emotional beats landed. I still had a great time overall, but I think a more focused narrative and character work would have made those moments even stronger. If there\’s anyone that\’s close to a protagonist here it\’s Katy O\’Brian\’s club manager, Dre. O\’Brian is an absolute star. She has so much presence and charisma. Between a bit part in this year\’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and her star-making turn in Love Lies Bleeding, it\’s nice to see her do lighter fare like this, where she gets to kick zombie ass but also show some comedic chops. I really hope her career skyrockets, because she\’s a very magnetic performer. Jack Haven is the other big scene-stealer as the ditzy blonde intern, Kelsey. This is a far cry from their role in I Saw The TV Glow, and again, it\’s nice to see an actor show their range and go from a more intense or serious role to something light and fun, where they\’re clearly having a blast and making the audience have a blast with them. Overall, the whole cast is solid. For a relatively low-budget indie movie, it looks great too. It\’s chaotic and colorful, with some fun makeup and costume choices that offer a unique and sufficiently silly interpretation of zombies that is actually pretty refreshing in an era where we\’ve seen every iteration of scary zombies imaginable (28 Years Later is another recent fresh take on zombies, but that\’s more about what it does with its human characters than its zombie design). If you\’re looking for a truly scary zombie movie, you won\’t find that here. This is very much a comedy more than anything else. But it\’s also a beautiful ode from a daughter to her father\’s legacy, in a way that is very clearly true to her own experiences and vision. If nothing else, the movie feels like a love letter to both queer spaces/communities and to the genre that her father built his career on. There are plenty of fun and clever easter eggs that pay homage to George A. Romero\’s films, but Queens of the Dead is, as Tina Romero said in the Q&A after our screening, a movie that her dad would never have made. It\’s her movie through and through, and it\’s a welcome addition to the zombie canon. Verdict Queens of the Dead put a huge smile on my face. It\’s a joyous movie that in some ways lampoons the zombie genre and in other ways honours it. It\’s funny and silly and kind, and it\’s unapologetically gay. If you\’re looking for a fun zombie flick with an eclectic cast of (mostly) queer characters and a sense of humour, you\’ll likely have a good time with this.

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\’Together\’ Review – Alison Brie and Dave Franco Stick Together in this Darkly Funny Romantic Horror

Fantasia International Film Festival, Reviews /

Have you ever felt like you were losing yourself in a relationship? Writer and director Michael Shanks takes that fear and turns it into the central horror of his debut feature Together. Tim and Millie (played by real-life spouses Dave Franco and Alison Brie) have been together for a decade when they uproot their life in the city to move into a big beautiful home in the countryside. Millie is a schoolteacher and Tim is an aspiring musician, but he\’s unsure of his place in the world and in his relationship. When we meet the couple, he seems to have lost his sense of individuality (tellingly, at their goodbye party with friends, Millie points out how cute it is that they inadvertently wore matching outfits—we cut to Tim changing his shirt). He doesn\’t really know who he is outside of his relationship, and he\’s chafing against that—he loves Millie but feels trapped. When the pair encounters a supernatural force in the vicinity of their new home, it puts the limits of their relationship to the test. The marketing of this movie gives a lot of its premise away, but I want to stress that it works best if you go into this one knowing as little as possible. What I can say is that this is a very strong directorial debut from Shanks. It\’s marketed primarily as a horror film, but it\’s also a very funny and very romantic movie at heart. It does a remarkable job of weaving those different threads together and balancing its different tones. There are consistent laughs, but also very effective scares, creepy moments, and body horror, not to mention a genuinely romantic core. Brie and Franco bring their real-life chemistry to the screen to make the film\’s central relationship feel lived in and make us want to root for them, despite the obstacles and struggles they face. A recurring motif in the film is the idea of being oblivious to something rotting right under your nose, like a dead rat rotting away behind a light fixture. The rot creeps in so gradually that you don\’t even know you\’re breathing it in. At first, Tim and Millie\’s relationship seems to have gone the way of the rat. They\’ve clearly lost touch (ha!) with one another, and we wonder if the relationship has simply gone stale after all that time, even if they\’re still in the room, breathing in the stink. But by the end, it\’s clear that Shanks has a more hopeful, if twisted, view of love and relationships. The movie walks a fine line between exposing the flaws of its central relationship and asserting that they\’re still right to fight for it anyway. One of my favourite things about horror as a genre is its ability to take grounded human experiences and emotions and amplify them through metaphor. This film takes the fear of commitment and of sharing your life with someone and amplifies it to its logical extreme as a metaphor, raising questions about what it actually means to build a life together and make compromises and become one half of a unit that is a couple. On top of the great tonal balance and central performances, the visual effects are, for the most part, phenomenal, with a perfect marriage (ha!) of practical and digital effects, aside from one pivotal moment that doesn\’t quite land. Beyond that, the body horror is visceral and effective with just the right amount of restraint. The movie is a little heavy-handed at times, telegraphing certain reveals a little too much. But I really loved a lot of what it\’s doing and had such a fun time with it at Fantasia, where the unparalleled crowd experience really made this a blast to watch. Verdict Together is the perfect horror rom-com for anyone who\’s ever felt trapped, co-dependent, or lost in a relationship. But it\’s also for the hopeless romantics and horror fans. It\’s a remarkably well-balanced mix of genres and tones, anchored by the lived-in chemistry of its leads.

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The Naked Gun (2025): Funny Enough to Walk Free

Reviews /

“Surely you can’t be serious! I am serious and don’t call me Shirley.”  Long before I knew the movie, I knew that moment from the 1980 film Airplane. Airplane was a turning point in the career of fellow Canadian Leslie Nielsen, an established working actor known for playing more serious roles before playing Dr. Rumack in Airplane.  The concept was simple: take serious actors and have them play their characters completely straight in an absurdist comedic movie. The movie was a hit and from this point on, Nielsen was known for his deadpan comedy and established himself as a comedic legend up until his death in 2010.  Airplane was a smash hit and led to the short lived TV show Police Squad, which then became a film in 1988’s The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! The movie spawned two sequels and now in 2025 it’s been remade without Nielsen and with a whole new creative team.  I absolutely adore Nielsen, Airplane, and the Police Squad/Naked Gun movies and shows, so to say I was skeptical about a Naked Gun reboot would be an understatement. We are in the IP era, where studios are seemingly petrified about taking risks to create the next new thing, and instead look for established names with goodwill from the audience to make their money.  So, is this reboot criminally unfunny or does The Naked Gun get away with enough laughs to beat the rap? My Thoughts First, we need to talk about Liam Neeson, who plays Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Leslie Nielsen’s original Frank Drebin. Overall, I think Neeson is good in the role. Considering he was given a near-impossible task (in my opinion, anyway), good is probably the best I could have hoped for.  The rest of the cast is also solid, including Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand, Danny Huston, and CCH Pounder. Although there’s a decently sized supporting cast, it’s really only Neeson, Anderson, and Huston that get much screentime. I would’ve loved to see more Paul Walter Hauser, but he did great in the moments he did have. Continuing with the positives, the movie is only 85 minutes long, and it’s crammed full of jokes. Even if some don’t land for you, the good news is you’ll be peppered with five more in the next minute, so you won’t even remember that you didn’t laugh at an earlier bit. The movie delivers a steady amount of chuckles and even got a few hearty belly laughs out of me, too.  Without question, the movie is funny, and I think that most people that go and see this will have a great time with it, but I’m personally a bit more torn on it.  On the surface, I enjoyed myself and I laughed quite a bit, but when the credits began (which have plenty of jokes in them too and, yes, there is a post-credits scene) I was just thinking about how much I love the originals. If you’ve listened to our podcast at all, you’ll know that we often talk about expectations and what can happen if you bring your own baggage into a movie.  This is where the downside of the IP era really hits me, because despite my best efforts to leave my expectations at home, I can’t go into a movie called The Naked Gun and not think about Leslie Nielsen, the previous three movies, and the original show. For new audiences and young people that don’t have that attachment, this won’t register at all, and I don’t expect my experience to be what most people experience. For what it’s worth, I had friends with me that have seen and love the originals and had a more enjoyable time than I did.  In that vein, this movie does mostly carry on the spirit of the Naked Gun, but it also leaves behind some of the charms of the originals, too. I read a few things ahead of the release that noted the filmmakers were trying to bring that “old school” kind of comedy to a new audience, and while I can respect that goal, the moderness of this new reboot was what I disliked the most.  This manifests most noticeably for me in the visuals and the overall look of the film. It feels too digital, and I was craving more obviously created sets and gags related to that. Even when the classic “noir” jazz music was playing during driving and transition scenes, it just never felt right with the modern look of Los Angeles and because they did nothing creatively to make it feel old school or even funny. Perhaps they thought too much of an “old look” would be a deterrent to modern audiences or something, but when I have such a concrete sense of what a Naked Gun movie should be, if you make one that’s missing some of those same hallmarks, it stands out.  Now you might be thinking “This guy is making a bit too big of a fuss over an 85-minute studio comedy” and that’s a totally valid criticism, but I don’t think it’s “wrong” to compare the new Naked Gun to its own namesake. If anything, watching this movie made me want to see this creative team do something original and bring that old school comedic thought to a more modern audience in a way that’s more relevant.  When Police Squad first hit the airwaves in the 80’s, police procedurals were all over the place and incredibly prominent in the culture, and the idea was to parody and spoof them. Rebooting the Naked Gun in 2025 feels a little weird in an era when cop movies are just not really made that often anymore. Still, when all is said and done, The Naked Gun is better than I expected but not as good as I wanted it to be.  Verdict I was incredibly torn on how to rate this movie, but after thinking it through,

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\’Redux Redux\’ Review: A Standout Thriller at Fantasia 2025

Fantasia International Film Festival, Reviews /

The 29th Fantasia Film Festival is well underway and we’ve been on the ground every day to cover everything you need to put on your radar! Make sure you’re checking out the Screen Love Affair Podcast and follow us on Instagram to keep up with all of our coverage. With that aside, one movie I needed to write about was Redux Redux. I talked a little about it on our Instagram, but I wanted to write an official review of it on the website too to dive a bit more into it.  It’s a family film, in that it was written and directed by Kevin and Matthew McManus and stars their sister Michaela McManus. It also stars Stella Marcus and Jeremy Holm, who we will definitely talk about in more detail later. I know I say this a lot, but I really do mean this here: This is the kind of movie that is best enjoyed knowing as little as possible. Like, I don’t even want to tell you the genre because it can give something away. This review is spoiler-free too, so don’t worry about reading on.  I can say that this is a revenge thriller, just to give you a sense of what to expect, but beyond that, mum\’s the word!  So, is Redux Redux just another revenge flick or does it burn with something deeper beneath the surface? My Thoughts Redux Redux starts off incredibly strong and basically doesn’t let you go until it’s all over. We kick off with our lead, Irene (Michaela McManus) at a fire and then we jump around to her doing some different things that the audience doesn’t fully understand. It’s particularly for the first act that I am being light on the spoilers. You’re immediately dropped into situations and the movie hits the ground running. It slowly becomes a bit more clear what is happening, but I was enjoying the mystery at the beginning quite a lot, even if I already read about the movie so I knew what was actually happening.  Jeremy Holm plays the target of Irene’s revenge, and Holm is very solid in this role. He plays the different sides of his character very well, especially when he has to be more imposing and menacing. Holm and McManus are both great, but the biggest standout for me here was Stella Marcus as Mia. Mia and Irene come together as the movie progresses and it’s really once they come together that the incredibly strong emotional core of this movie starts to shine.  Their pairing reminded me a little bit of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but as people motivated by grief and revenge, and at very different stages of their journeys with those two things. It’s a perfect pairing because not only do they manage to flesh out their own individual stories well, but their own relationship developing is as compelling as anything else happening and every moment spent with the two of them was a blast. Another strong point is the script. I often talk about how movies can struggle to balance their own tone and themes in an organic way that doesn’t feel like the movie is grinding to a halt for a monologue. I’m very glad to report though that no such moment exists in this movie. The more somber moments and beats all work and feel natural for the characters in those moments, which makes this movie feel so refreshing when so many mainstream movies struggle to do this part well.  This was my first experience with the McManus brothers, but I was really impressed with it. They did an absolutely amazing job with a more limited budget, but with such a strong script, I would be really curious to see what they could do with a bigger budget.  Verdict We’re only halfway through the festival, but I’m certain this movie will end up on my Best of the Fest list! Redux Redux is an easy movie to recommend. The violence and action are solid, but it’s really the core characters that shine the most here and make the movie more memorable. It tackles serious themes, but in a way that was more unique and organic than it’s been done before. I was very impressed by everyone involved, but I suspect that you’ll be seeing much more of Stella Marcus in the years to come!

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\’Materialists\’ Review – The Most Cynical Rom-Dramedy of the Year is a Baffling Mess

Reviews /

Following up Past Lives was always going to be difficult in my estimation. That movie is one that remains near and dear to my heart. It\’s a movie that has affected me emotionally in ways I\’m almost embarrassed to admit. So it\’s conflicting to come away from Celine Song\’s second feature Materialists feeling so . . . conflicted.On the one hand, I like that it pulls a fast one on its audience. The way the film is marketed, the premise, the cast of beautiful actors playing beautiful people living in New York City—all of these things set you up to expect a classic rom-com, the kind that were everywhere in the 1990s and early 2000s. I expect a lot of people who watched the trailer for this and went in thinking they would get just that will be sorely disappointed. Rather than a light, airy rom-com, Materialists is, in some ways, interested in subverting the tropes of the traditional rom-com. These are the parts of the movie I quite liked. It\’s refreshingly honest about the vapidness of modern dating, the way that relationships have always been rooted in a sort of transactional exchange, be it financial, social, or otherwise. Despite that, we still have to believe that love—true love, the kind we\’ve been conditioned to expect from the kind of movies this one appears to be at first glance—is possible. It\’s an absurd thing that I think Song is interested in exploring. How can relationships be materialistic, value-based, and quantifiable, yet love, the driving force behind most of them, remains completely intangible and unpredictable? Dakota Johnson, I\’d argue, is perfectly cast as Lucy, an emotionally inscrutable woman who works as a matchmaker and believes that love is just a mathematical problem, an equation that can be solved. She wants material comfort, and that\’s where Pedro Pascal\’s Harry comes in. He\’s rich, handsome, but also kind—what they call a unicorn in Lucy\’s profession. But, in classic rom-com fashion, she\’s faced with another romantic option in the form of her broke, wannabe-actor ex, played by Chris Evans. The irony of the film, of course, is that while Lucy ostensibly trades in love, she has no idea what it really is. Love is the one thing that can upset her worldview, because it\’s not quantifiable or predictable or about checking boxes on a sheet of paper. This is quite interesting, and I suspect the movie\’s view of modern dating and love will resonate with a lot of people. However, while the potential to explore these questions and ideas is high, the movie fumbles in its execution. Whereas Past Lives was quiet and understated and subtle, Materialists hits you with its themes over the head. Despite that, I couldn\’t quite get a lock on what the movie wanted me to take away. It\’s in many ways deeply deeply cynical about dating and our ability to connect through a consumerist approach to relationships that places value and material qualities over everything else. Yet, the ending seems to go back and reinstate the rom-com fantasy of love without irony. There\’s some ambiguity there, but it\’s not enough to make the film feel cohesive based on what was presented to us earlier. I couldn\’t tell if the characters were intended to be broad cyphers to prove the film\’s point, with performances to match—or if they were just poorly written and poorly acted. Or maybe it\’s that the movie is simply more interested in philosophizing about modern dating and love and the role of value in romantic relationships than it is in creating believable fully realized characters. You\’d think a romance would offer more insight into the inner lives of its characters, yet we hardly know anything about them beyond their professions. Ironically, the movie seems to treat them sort of like merchandise, despite its thesis supposedly being that people can\’t be reduced to a marketable list of features. It\’s quite likely I went into this movie with too-high expectations, and that impacted my viewing experience. But it\’s also a very inconsistent and, in many ways, strange and inscrutable movie. There are tonal shifts that don\’t completely work. The movie\’s sense of humour is subtle and largely worked for me, but then it\’s also quite serious and there\’s a heavy subplot that feels very underserved, which largely didn\’t work for me. Despite all these criticisms, I didn\’t hate the movie. There\’s a lot here that I did like and thought was smart, and the movie is undeniably nice to look at (beautifully shot on film). But the more I sit with it, the more confused I am about what it\’s actually trying to say. Verdict As someone who adored Past Lives, I wanted to love Materialists so badly. But the predominant feeling I left the theatre with was confusion. I think there are elements here that are very compelling, and at least the movie is trying to do something interesting with age-old formulas and themes. However, the baffling tonal shifts, odd performances, and unclear messaging make the overall package hard to buy into. If you want to hear more, check out our Materialists podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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\’28 Years Later\’ Review – Somehow Still Alive… and Better Than Ever

Reviews /

28 Days Later hit theatres in 2002 and has loomed large in the lexicon of horror fans everywhere. Even before I saw the full film, I knew the haunting image of Jim (played by now-Oscar winner Cillian Murphy) wandering the empty streets of London. To this day it remains one of the most striking and impactful sequences I’ve ever seen. Directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, Steve Jobs), the film also marked the debut of screenwriter Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Civil War, Warfare). 28 Years Later marks the return to the franchise for both Boyle and Garland and is the first of a planned trilogy of new movies. This movie picks up, as the title suggests, 28 years after the initial outbreak of the “Rage” virus in the UK. Title cards at the beginning tell us that the virus has been eradicated from continental Europe, but the British Isles remain in indefinite quarantine. Alfie Williams plays Spike, a 12 year old living on a small tidal island with access to the mainland only possible during low tide.  So was this franchise worth revisiting 23 years later or is it just another case of the legacy sequel virus? My Thoughts I have to say, this movie might be the biggest surprise of the year for me. I had a list of movies I wanted to see these last few weeks and going into them all, this is the movie I expected the least from. I knew very little details, but I did see the teaser trailer a few times. Nevertheless, I found myself rolling my eyes a bit at yet another legacy sequel. 28 Days Later is still an all time classic for me, but the sequel 28 Weeks Later, was decidedly inferior than the original movie and was criminally generic, especially when contrasted with the lo-fi visual style of the original. However, both Garland and Boyle were not involved in that sequel so that was at least an intriguing notion.  But as an ardent film lover, despite my reservations, I capped off my week of movies with 28 Years Later and an open mind. And as the credits hit, it was clear to me that 28 Years Later is undoubtedly one of my favourite movies of the year so far.  Why? Well first I have to start with the visual style. In today\’s world of film, with flat grays, awkward lighting, and just a general boring visual style, it can be easy for a movie to stand out as long as it does even one small thing differently. 28 Years Later really remains true to its roots and is one of the most distinct and visually impressive movies I have seen in a while. I don’t want to give any of the specifics away, but even this behind the scenes shot of an infected shows you the kind of toys they were playing with.  Trust me, Boyle is absolutely firing on all cylinders here.  He’s not alone either because Alex Garland delivered (in my opinion, anyway) his best script since 2014’s Ex Machina. When I tell you that 28 Years Later is one of the most emotional and moving films I have seen all year, I promise you that I’m not lying. Garland’s script is so great at every level. On the surface, there is an amazing coming-of-age story and also a meditation on life, death, and love. That alone is worth the price of admission, but if you care to scratch a little bit deeper, there is more depth here than even I realized on my initial watch. This movie has sparked plenty of discussions about isolationism, Brexit, cultures stuck looking backwards instead of forwards, and so much more. None of these themes are essential to understand or to appreciate the film, but I think that’s what I find so brilliant about the script. The layers here are truly impressive and it’s able to deliver something for everyone that may wander into the theatre to see this movie.  Of course, for a movie to be this good, it needs a rock solid cast and 28 Years Later has that, too. We definitely need to start with Alfie Williams. What an incredibly impressive feature film debut, especially for someone who was 13 years old at the time of filming. I only bring up his age because of how much more impressive it is. In some movies, I will often caveat performances from young actors by saying it was a great “child performance,” but I am making no such caveats here. This whole movie hinges on Alfie’s lead performance and it’s one of the best of the year so far. He’s not alone, though, in this movie. Even the supporting characters absolutely shine. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer play his parents and both of them are incredible at every point. The biggest powerhouse performance though for me comes from Ralph Fiennes, who isn’t in much of the movie, but is critical for the story and evolution of these characters. Fiennes is incredible at balancing the duality of his character, and without Fiennes, the story just wouldn’t come together nearly as strongly.  As a whole package, I was kind of floored by this movie. It starts off gritty and raw and I was thoroughly enjoying the experience which includes some very cool and gnarly gore and kills, too. As it progressed though, the emotional story sort of snuck up on me and absolutely cut me to the core.  There has been much discussion about the ending, which I won’t talk about at all here (stay tuned for a spoiler-filled episode of The Screen Love Affair Podcast to hear about that), but as long as you keep an open mind, I think you’ll love the ending as much as I did.  Verdict I didn’t expect to love 28 Years Later, in fact, I was ready to write it off like so many other legacy sequels. But I couldn’t

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\’The Life of Chuck\’ Review – A Quiet, Beautiful Reminder of Why I Love Movies

Reviews /

My first experience with Mike Flanagan came in 2016 when I watched Hush, a horror slasher with a deaf protagonist. This was a very simple movie, but felt incredibly fresh and inventive. Afterwards, Flanagan went on to make Ouija: Origin of Evil (aka the good Oujia movie), and a few series for Netflix, like Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, among others. By far his most impressive feat in my opinion though was Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining. With this movie, Flanagan had the impossible task of not only following-up one of the most legendary films of all time (that also departed from its source material), but he had to do it by adapting another Stephen King book. In short, this was a movie doomed to fail and yet, it didn’t! I was actually impressed with the film and how much I enjoyed it and my Gram, who also loved The Shining, felt the exact same way.  From that day forward, I’ve been preaching the gospel of Mike Flanagan. Midnight Mass was one of the last shows I ever watched with my Gram and I’ll always adore Flanagan for all of his horror films and shows that connected my Gram and me together.  Life of Chuck is something of a departure for its writer/director Mike Flanagan. While based on a Stephen King short story, it’s not one in the horror genre. As always, I like to give as little detail as possible, but this movie has such a great synopsis that gives you just the right amount of information: “Charles \”Chuck\” Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.”  So is Flanagan better off sticking to his horror roots, or is The Life of Chuck proof that his true genre… is greatness? My Thoughts Simply put, I’m so glad to see this departure for Flanagan. Something about his style just allows for the feeling and emotion to ooze out of every scene. The story is told in reverse and it makes the movie really come together beautifully. It’s not just a gimmick to be different, it serves the story so well.  Chuck is played by various actors including Tom Hiddelston, who plays Chuck as an adult, Cody Flanagan (7 year old Chuck), Benjamin Pajak (11 year old Chuck), and even Jacob Tremblay (17 year old Chuck). Each iteration of Chuck is excellent, but I want to give credit to Benjamin Pajak who was the biggest standout for me. It’s these moments in Chuck\’s formative years that so much of the emotion enters the movie and contextualizes everything we’ve seen and experienced so far. Pajak’s acting and his dancing were absolutely spectacular and without such a capable performance, the whole movie could have failed to reach the highs that it did.  Perhaps it was because of my expectations, but the only thing I really felt missing was a bit more time with Tom Hiddelston as adult Chuck. Make no mistake, he makes the most of his time, but I felt like there was a piece missing to really dial up the emotions as the whole story came together. We will definitely get more into this when we talk about this movie on our podcast, so if you’re not worried about spoilers and want to hear more, make sure to check that out! Another standout for me was the music. The score was a bit simplistic at times, but it was always incredibly effective. Complementing the score though was the soundtrack. Dancing is a big component of this movie and the songs they use in this at every turn felt absolutely perfect. The dance numbers and the emotion they pour into them made me feel so much that I was kind of shocked. I am decidedly not a dancer, but I was so moved by these moments that it made me envious of the experience and the impact they have on the people that get to experience it.  The supporting cast here, which is absolutely loaded with Flanagan regulars, all deliver in their own ways, some bigger and smaller than others. It didn’t detract from the movie or anything, but I’m worried that in the future the group of regulars can feel more like a spectacle on their own. For example, in this movie there are so many of them, and some of the roles are small enough that it could feel almost like cameo fatigue. Now make no mistake, I’m not implying that’s what is at all happening here. None of the appearances amount to cameos (except for a flash of Flanagan himself) and the movie doesn’t want us as an audience to pop in excitement at the mere appearance of a familiar actor. Each character has a crucial role to play in the story and all of them excel, but I couldn’t help but feel a slight amount of me getting temporarily pulled out of the movie when these familiar faces would appear.  As a whole though, this movie is absolutely beautiful. I would describe it as happy/sad in all the best ways. It drew plenty of emotion out of me, even getting me to tear up a little bit at times. If anything, I really wanted the movie to have a moment where the dam would break and the tears would pour out of me. I’m curious if on a second watch that I can reach the emotional catharsis the movie really primed me for. Verdict To answer my own question: yes. The Life of Chuck proves that Mike Flanagan’s true genre is greatness. Honestly, after reflecting throughout this review, I came to the realization that boxing Flanagan in as a horror filmmaker doesn\’t do justice to his body of work. Sure, they usually have your typical horror elements, but what sets Flanagan\’s horror work apart from all the rest is the characters and the heart that permeates all throughout his

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\’Bring Her Back\’ Review – It’ll Make You Squirm, But Will It Stick With You?

Reviews /

Bring Her Back is the sophomore effort from Danny and Michael Philippou, after the critically and commercially successful release of their first film Talk To Me. Danny and Michael are twin brothers from Australia who you may know from their successful YouTube Channel RackaRacka. Bring Her Back stars Billy Barratt, Sora Wong and Sally Hawkins.  You know we like to avoid spoilers here at SLA, and luckily the synopsis for this movie gives you just the right amount of setup: “A brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother.” So is Bring Her Back a welcome addition to the family, or one you’ll want to disown? My Thoughts First, I think it makes the most sense to start with my feelings about Talk to Me because overall I feel pretty similar about both movies.  I was a little less excited by it than most people were. I was definitely impressed by how solid the movie was considering it was their first crack at a feature film, but when the movie ended I was just left feeling like something was missing.  Unfortunately, I felt something similar with Bring Her Back. However, I still think overall that I liked this one more!  One of the best parts about it for me was Sally Hawkins. Without getting into details, she was perfectly casted as someone that has such a sweet and innocent look to them, but also was believable when she\’s doing much darker things too. Genuinely, this was perfect casting.  Billy and Sora play Andy and Piper, the brother and sister duo and our main characters. They were both solid in their roles. Jonah Wren Phillips, who plays Oliver, a child that is living with Sally Hawkins’ character Laura, probably has a tougher assignment here given the oddities of that character, but he\’s also very solid.  Outside the characters though, the movie shines brightest when it starts playing more with some of these horror elements. Particularly the sound design. It\’s been a few days now since I saw the movie, and one moment in particular hasn\’t left my head and it makes me shudder when I think about it.  But for my money, I didn\’t feel like there was enough of these moments. Because they\’re so effective and well done, it become noticeable when a bunch of time would pass and nothing too creepy or unsettling would happen.  At the same time though, I didn\’t feel the movie was too heavy about its themes either, specifically as it relates to grief and losing family members. They\’re definitely there and prominent enough, but I don\’t feel like we were focusing on too many moments to reaffirm these themes at the expense of these more tense and gnarly horror moments.  And really, this is where my feelings about the movie leave me a little stumped. I was enjoying this ride but ultimately, when we get to the ending, I couldn\’t help but shake this feeling that something was missing. I think the biggest issue with both of these movies is that they don\’t wrap up in a way that feels totally satisfying.  I really like when a movie fades to black for the end credits and I feel stuck in my head. Either I\’m blown away by what I just saw, or I\’m left speechless contemplating the feelings the movie has elicited from me. But this movie just left me feeling a bit more hollow.  Verdict Even with my lack of feelings as the credits rolled, I still had a good time and I think many of you will, too. The journey hits harder than the destination, packed with enough sharp horror beats to make even a genre veteran like me wince and squirm with the rest of the crowd. Writing this, I kept thinking about something Brandon and I discussed on Talkies about how Final Destination movies (to me at least) are just attempts at forgettable fun built on a great hook. Bring Her Back could’ve landed in that same category, but there\’s real talent behind the camera here. It might not leave a lasting mark, but I’ve seen plenty of movies with much bigger budgets and none of the guts, skill, or sharp edges this movie brings.

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